Chapter 122: Cao Shujie Has Proven Himself

“Mengmeng, when I got up this morning, you were still asleep, so I didn’t have the heart to disturb your sweet dreams,” Cao Shujie explained, trying to defend himself.

But kids these days, despite their young age, are not so easily fooled.

Mengmeng covered her ears with her hands, shaking her head vigorously, and shouted, “I won’t listen, I won’t listen, just won’t listen.”

As she spoke, two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks, a skill she had perfected to the point of mastery, leaving others helpless.

At least Cao Shujie couldn’t handle it. Seeing his daughter cry, he panicked. “Oh dear, Mengmeng, don’t cry. Daddy was wrong, okay? I’ll take you out for a walk right now.”

“Okay!” Mengmeng immediately broke into a smile.

Cao Shujie was a bit flustered. Looking closely at his daughter’s face, apart from the two lines of tears, her eyes and expression were full of joy, as if she hadn’t been crying at all.

“You little trickster,” Cao Shujie said, looking at his daughter with a helpless expression.

But Mengmeng didn’t care. She held onto the railing of the Little Trailer, trying to lift her leg to step inside.

However, the railing was higher than her, and despite her efforts, she couldn’t get over it. Frustrated, Mengmeng called out, “Daddy, help me!”

“Mengmeng, how about we have breakfast first and then go out?” Cao Shujie suggested.

Mengmeng shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “No, no!”

She was firm on this; she believed there was no room for negotiation. Her dad had to take her out for a walk first.

Cao Shujie, feeling helpless, put collars on Daha and Erha, tied the two German Shepherds at home, then led Daha and Erha, pulling the Little Trailer outside.

Mengmeng had just gotten a new ride, and it looked very pretty.

The Little Trailer had a row of buttons that could play music and tell stories.

As Daha and Erha pulled the Little Trailer down the street, Mengmeng slapped a button, and the music of “Jingle Bells” started playing loudly, drawing the attention of people chatting on the street.

Seeing the dogs pulling the trailer, people couldn’t help but laugh.

When they saw Mengmeng sitting inside the Little Trailer, many faces lit up with smiles.

Someone greeted her, “Mengmeng, out for a ride again?”

“Grandmother, out to play!” Mengmeng nodded enthusiastically.

Another person remarked, “Wow, Mengmeng, is this a new ride you got? It’s really pretty.”

“Daddy bought it, Grandfather bought it,” Mengmeng shouted.

For a moment, the onlookers couldn’t figure out who actually bought it.

Cao Shujie greeted the elders, exchanging a few words with each.

Before they could continue walking, the loudspeaker started playing Peking Opera.

The people chatting instinctively looked at Cao Shujie, realizing he was still there. Cao Juan wondered aloud, “Shujie is here, so who’s on today? Is it that old coot?”

“Juan, don’t say that. If he decides to make things difficult for your family, we can’t help you,” Li Xiumei warned.

In the vicinity of Cao Shujie’s home, there were only a few people who regularly gathered to chat. Occasionally, someone new would join, but they never stayed long.

Cao Juan shouted, “Am I supposed to be afraid of some old geezer?”

Listening to the aunts and ladies chat, Cao Shujie couldn’t help but chuckle along.

After the Peking Opera finished, Cao Jiangang’s voice came over the loudspeaker: “Attention all the men and women of Cao Family Village, I have something very important to announce…”

The same opening line that hadn’t changed in decades, starting from the previous Village Party Secretary.

Cao Juan, Li Xiumei, and the others didn’t pay much attention to what Cao Jiangang was saying, continuing their own conversations. But when they suddenly heard the loudspeaker announcing a meeting to vote on Cao Shujie’s mountain land contract, they all fell silent and turned to look at Cao Shujie, their eyes seemingly asking, “Why do you have so many things going on?”

“Shujie, what’s this about?” Gao Fengting asked him.

“Auntie, I just contracted the mountain land next to my orchard. I’m planning to move the chickens, ducks, geese, cattle, and sheep over there,” Cao Shujie explained.

Hearing this, Gao Fengting, Li Xiumei, and the others were at a loss for words.

They had just thought Cao Shujie was settling down, only to find out he was stirring things up again.

Cao Juan, still curious about something, asked him, “Shujie, tell your aunt, why are you planting so many flowers on the mountain?”

“Aunt, it’s just to make it look nice when they bloom!” Cao Shujie replied casually.

He continued, “This year is a write-off, but next spring, the whole mountain will be covered in beautiful flowers. You can come and see them anytime. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

“You spent tens of thousands of yuan on flowers just to make it look nice?” Gao Fengting found it hard to believe.

Cao Shujie held up two fingers. “I only spent a little over twenty thousand yuan. It’s not much. Most of it went on flower seedlings, just a couple of yuan each, nothing valuable.”

Hearing this, they couldn’t find words to respond, feeling that Cao Shujie’s thinking was on a different level from theirs.

Ma Wenqian, who hadn’t spoken, asked, “Shujie, tell your sister-in-law, how many mu of mountain land did you rent this time, and how many cattle are you planning to raise?”

“Hehe, not much, just rented 100 mu of mountain land. As for the number of cattle, it’s hard to say, but I definitely won’t do anything beyond my capabilities,” Cao Shujie said.

As soon as he finished, Gao Fengting nodded in agreement. “Shujie, you’re right. You shouldn’t overreach.”

She added, “Look at Cao Jianhua. He has no idea of his own capabilities, taking on such a big project. Now I’ve heard he’s almost spent all his family’s money and is constantly arguing with his wife for more. He’s really overextended himself.”

“Exactly, I’ve heard that too. I heard he’s even looking into loans. I say he shouldn’t borrow money. It’ll be even worse if he can’t pay it back,” Li Xiumei chimed in.

“Who wouldn’t agree? Anyone capable wouldn’t need to borrow from a bank. It’s embarrassing!” Cao Juan remarked disdainfully.

But listening to this, Cao Shujie felt a bit awkward, as he had also taken a bank loan.

Perhaps realizing this, Cao Juan quickly added, “Shujie, you’re different. I wasn’t talking about you.”

“Aunt, it’s fine!”

Before Cao Shujie could finish speaking, Mengmeng, who was sitting in the Little Trailer, couldn’t wait any longer. She pressed the music button again, and as the music played, she shouted, “Daddy, let’s go!”

“Alright, let’s go, Mengmeng, we’re leaving now.” This time, Cao Shujie didn’t stop. He continued to lead Daha and Erha, taking Mengmeng for a ride.

Watching his back and seeing Mengmeng laughing heartily in the Little Trailer, the others couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

“Look at how capable Shujie is. He’s doing so well even at home. Unlike my son, who is just hopeless, as stubborn as a mule, no matter how much I tell him, it doesn’t help,” Li Xiumei said with a hint of resignation when she thought of her son.

Cao Juan shook her head in agreement, “Let’s not talk about it. It just makes me angry. Let’s talk about something happy.”

Gao Fengting chimed in, “What are we still talking about? Let’s hurry home, tidy up, and bring our stools to the meeting.”

“Fengting is right. We should support Shujie.”

Meanwhile, Cao Shujie, leading Daha and Erha, drove Mengmeng around the village streets twice in the Little Trailer. After Mengmeng had attracted enough attention, the father and daughter headed home.

“Daddy, that was so much fun,” Mengmeng shouted from the Little Trailer.

As they entered through the gate, Cao Shujie gave her a sidelong glance, “Mengmeng, come down now. Daddy needs to eat something before going to a meeting. Little kids can’t attend meetings.”

“I don’t believe it!” Mengmeng shook her head. “There are lots and lots of kids.”

On their way back, she had seen many adults taking their little ones to the meeting, and she wanted to join in the excitement.

Cao Shujie scratched his head, wondering why his daughter was different from other children.

Fortunately, Cheng Xiaolin heard their daughter insisting on going to the meeting and said, “Mengmeng, Daddy has something very important today. Later, Mommy will take you.”

Mengmeng looked at her father, then at her mother, and finally nodded reluctantly, “Alright then.”

After having a quick bite at home, Cao Shujie grabbed his stool and headed out.

On the way, he encountered many people who greeted him.

At this moment, Cao Shujie was no longer the same person he was at the beginning of the year when he had just returned to Cao Family Village from Beijing.

Back then, many people doubted him, suspecting he had failed outside and returned home in defeat. But now, that wasn’t the case.

Over the past six months, Cao Shujie had proven through one achievement after another that he hadn’t returned to the countryside because he couldn’t make it in Beijing.

He demonstrated once again that “a capable person can rise anywhere.”

As he walked into the Village Committee Courtyard, he saw that over a hundred people were already seated inside.

As soon as he entered, many people stood up to greet him.

“Shujie, why are you contracting more mountain land? Isn’t what you have already enough?” asked Cao Jianyou.

He had been working with Cao Zhenggang, but with less work recently, Cao Jianyou was resting at home.

Today, when he heard the loudspeaker announcing a village meeting to discuss “Cao Shujie contracting mountain land,” his first thought was that he would have work to do.

This way of thinking was quite interesting.

Cao Shujie turned to him and replied with a smile, “Uncle You, I’m planning to use it specifically for farming.”

“Didn’t you already set aside a piece for farming?” Cao Jianyou was quite familiar with Cao Shujie’s situation.

But Cao Shujie shook his head, “It’s not enough. Besides, mixing farming and livestock together isn’t convenient. It’s better to separate them.”

While Cao Shujie and Cao Jianyou were chatting, Cao Jianhua entered from the back of the crowd.

He didn’t push his way forward.

In just two months, Cao Jianhua had lost the initial enthusiasm he had when he started planning his livestock business. Reality had hit him hard, almost shattering his confidence.

Looking at Cao Shujie, who was chatting with others, Cao Jianhua wanted to call him over for a chat, but he felt embarrassed to speak up.

He was now hesitant about whether to go to the Rural Commercial Bank in town to apply for a loan to buy piglets and feed.

After seriously considering his current situation last night, analyzing his pros and cons, Cao Jianhua realized that being anxious was useless. He needed to maintain a calm mindset.

Given his current situation, having already invested over 300,000 yuan, he couldn’t just stop now. Otherwise, he would be unwilling to give up.

Moreover, in future endeavors, he would be hesitant and indecisive.

Watching Cao Shujie surrounded by people, Cao Jianhua thought he would wait until after the meeting, when there were fewer people, to have a chat with him.

When Wang Yuelan arrived with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, the meeting was already in its final countdown.

Village Party Secretary Cao Jiangang and Village Head Gao Weimin were standing on the steps.

Once it was time, Village Party Secretary Cao Jiangang, as usual, took a black wired microphone and called for everyone to quiet down.

He detailed Cao Shujie’s second mountain land contract.

The contract terms remained the same: 130 yuan per mu, with a total of 117.5 mu, and a 30-year contract period, just like last time.

Under these terms, the first installment payment for the 10-year contract period totaled 159,904.96 yuan, roughly 160,000 yuan, which was a full 60,000 yuan more than the first installment of his previous contract.

“According to Accountant Cao Zhengyin’s calculations, the total contract payment over 30 years amounts to 649,997.72 yuan, to be paid in three installments. Does anyone have any objections?”

When Cao Jiangang announced this figure, many villagers from Cao Family Village were visibly taken aback.

They hadn’t expected the contract fee to be so high!

Immediately, many began wondering how this sum would be used.

Surely, it wouldn’t just be like the first contract fee, used merely for electricity to streetlights?

They felt that would be absurd.

But Cao Jiangang didn’t want to discuss the allocation of funds in front of so many people. Having served as Village Party Secretary for so many years, he knew that the more people there were, the less likely a productive discussion would occur, and it might even lead to unnecessary trouble.

He planned to find a time after the meeting to discuss it privately with the village committee members.

After introducing the main topic, he proceeded to the voting stage.

There was no suspense in this matter; Cao Shujie had already been recognized by the villagers of Cao Family Village.

The meeting wasn’t even over when someone loudly asked, “Shujie, do you need more workers?”

Many people had been waiting for this moment, but most of them were too shy to speak up.

Cao Shujie couldn’t tell who had spoken, but he replied, “Yes, once the lease contract is finalized, I’ll start hiring.”

“First, we need to clear that area, then dig a well, install a wire mesh fence, pave part of the ground, build a cowshed and pigsty, and plant forage grass. There’s quite a bit of work to be done this time!” Cao Shujie listed out each task.

Unlike planting an orchard, this time the mountain land was being leased for livestock farming. The entire area needed to be cleared, and once that’s done, forage grass would be planted specifically for feeding the cattle and sheep.

Cao Jianhua, standing at the back of the crowd, heard what Cao Shujie said and sighed, realizing more and more the significant gap between himself and Cao Shujie.

(End of Chapter)